• What the Offaly haircut incident says about Ireland

    Below is a piece I was working on for print in relation to the recent Offaly haircut row.

    As I say in the article, it’s easy to blow the issue out of proportion but at the same time it’s also easy to overlook the implications such a situation has for a very different country to the one these rules were formed in.

    Those viewers lucky enough to catch any of RTÉ’s ‘Time of our Lives’ series, which chronicled a changing Ireland over the past 20 years, would have been forgiven for smirking at some aspects of our society in the mid-1980’s; besides being the economic down and out’s of Europe back then, the nation was still struggling to escape the conservative and draconian shadow of the catholic church and reach its own level of cultural maturity. While the financial situation for most Irish people has improved dramatically since then the actions of one vocational school in Offaly is indicative of the fact that, as much as we would like to believe otherwise, we are still carrying some of the remnants of a very backwards national persona.

    As a nation we are extremely proud of our multiculturalism and bask in the glow of our new-found confidence. Stories of institutional abuse, cruelty and control in the education system shock us but rather than encourage us to act they instead make us thankful that we are no longer living in such a constrained society. It seems however that our progression towards an open minded society has its limitations, one such ceiling being the centre of this latest debacle.

    The issue of a haircut seems a trivial one and while it may not be the case for young Enda Carroll, the majority of people will not be hindered in their day to day lives regardless of what happens next in the case. The precedent that is set by the controversy, however, has much more sinister potential.

    To fairly judge a wide variety of individuals based on their appearance and to reach such a judgement based on a narrow group of opinions is a next to impossible task. When the issue of contention is a hair style there are few real complications but as Ireland becomes increasingly diverse in its complexion such limited viewpoints create the potential for tension. While these students are no more than followers of fashion the point is still clear that appearance is a basis on which to reward or punish people in our education system and what is an issue of style today could soon become a very public symptom of Ireland’s inability to bridge its remaining cultural divides.

    It is one thing for a person, or a group of people, to dictate the appearance of others but what if those rules come into conflict with religious teachings? In France an attempted resolution was to completely ban all religious iconography inside schools but such a sweeping action came with its own complications. While hiding a religious symbol is a minor detail for religious persuasions such as Christians such a move is a far bigger problem for Jews and Muslims whom signify and uphold their beliefs in a far more visible fashion.

    A less controversial and arguably more progressive tactic would be to reconsider the original reasoning for rules on appearance. Students in the past would be forced to follow a uniform and simple appearance in order to remain ‘neat and tidy’. This thought process was followed as the more imposing schools of the day felt that pupil discipline manifested itself in every part of their lives; appearance, punctuality and punctuation were all equal in importance and all fundamental in creating the model child. In our more outward thinking and ‘modern’ State the role of educators is not so much to mould a child as it is to simply inform; acceptable rules that apply are there to ensure the pupils and teachers all get the best from the process and neither group suffers unduly. The appearance of a child, unless obscene, bears no influence on the ability of a student to learn or a teacher to teach and yet it still remains an issue in most schools.

    The notion of a ‘neat and tidy’ appearance itself, on which three students in Offaly were turned away from examinations, is time sensitive and impossible to truly define. Where students were once sent home for having their hair too long they are now sent home for having it too short, so who knows what the next complaint will be? It is a common rule that any visible piercing or headwear is forbidden within schools but that could now be seen to fly in the face of many cultural and religious ideals present in this state. To discriminate on the basis of appearance today is itself a dangerous line to walk, regardless of the reasoning behind it.

    It is very easy to read too heavily into what is in reality a storm in a teacup, however our own Government will agree from recent experience that what gets ignored today could potentially ruin you tomorrow. The problem is apparent; schools are imposing heavy punishments based on antiquated and unregulated standards and it may only be a matter of time before a more dangerous controversy rears its head from these questionable rules. France saw massive opposition to its law that became known widely as a headscarf ban but to their advantage there was a clear and definitive line drawn on the issue; Ireland now needs to decide if a child’s appearance in school is something that should be left alone or legislated on, otherwise today’s inconsistencies could be tomorrows lawsuits.